Fastener for meeting-rails of sashes



um J. R TERRY.

Fastener for Meeting Railsof Sashes.,

No. 241,153. Patented May '17, .1881.

0%.@ lil UNITED STATES PATENT.l OFFICE.

J. RUFUS TERRY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FASTENER FOR MEETING'-RAILS OF SASHES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 241,753, dated May 17, 1881.

Application filed March 5, 1881. (Model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-I, J. RUFUs TERRY, of the city of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State.

of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sash-Fasteners, of which the following is afull, true, and exact description, reference being had to the accompan yin g drawings.

Fasteners for windowsashes as heretofore constructed have generally been controlled by a spring. Fasteners of this description are open to many objections, among others to the liability of the spring to fracture. It is very desirable that the fastener should be made selflocking, so that thesashes may always be retained in a locked position when the window is closed.

The object of my invention is to make a sash-fastener which shall be simple in construction, shall not be actuated or in any way controlled by a spring, and which shall act automatically to lock the sashes when the window is closed. My invention is limited, however, to a detailed construction of an automatic sash-lock' without a spring, the broad principle of this class of locking apparatuses being old.

It often happens that the upper surfaces of the meeting sashes cannot be made perfectly flush with one another, owing to the warping of the material of which the sashes are made, or to-some othercause. When this happens and an ordinary fastener is employed, or a fastenerwhich consists of parts which are separatel y attached to the upper and lower sashes, the fastener cannot be made to operate effect ively.

It is another one of the objects of my inven `tion to obviate this diiiiculty by making a fastener which can be attached to one sash only, and which is capable of being easily adjusted.

My invention will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters refer to similar parts.

- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my fastener. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line of the vertical portions of the upper and lower sashes, representing the sashes closed and locked; and Fig. 3 is a similar section, showing the fastener unlocked and the lower sash raised.

The fastener is made of any suitable metal, preferably iron, and consists of a bottom plate, A, hinged at a to a small plate, B, of a suitable width to be fastened to the upper sash at the side, or to the central vertical windowbar of the upper sash, when such Windowbar is suitably constructed to admit of the plate being thereto attached, and of a long plate or bolt, (l, hinged at b to the small plate B. The bottom plate, A, is provided with a jog, d, formed by cutting away the plate A, and of a suitable depth to arrest and lock the plate G when the same is caused to fall into the position shown in Fig. 2 by the lowering of the under sash. The free end of the bottom plate is turned up at e, to enable it to ride easily on the vertical portion of the under sash as the under sash is raised in the act of opening the window, and the free end ofthe plate lC is similarly turned up at c, and for a like purpose. The bottom plate, A, is provided with a notch, h, through which the free end of the plate C passes as the under sash is raised, and is gradually countersunk from f to g, so as toenable the plates to fit snugly together when lifted into the position shown in Fig. 3. The two sashes are shown at D, E, and F, F representing the vertical portions of the sashes, D the under, and E the upper sash. Gr represents the window-glass.

The operation of my invention will now be readily understood. Starting from the locked position shown inFig. 2, the plate O is iirst disengaged by hand from the jog d, and then the under sash is raised. The free end of the plate O passes through the notch It, and the two plates A O are gradually lifted into the position shown in Fig. 3, occupying the free space there shown. v As the under sash is fur-- ther raised these two plates ride easily on the vertical portion of the under sash. Then the under sash is lowered this operation is reversed and the plates A and O fall into the position shown in Fig. 2, when any attempt to raise the under sash causes the free end of the plate C vto engage with the jog d, and locks the sashes.

I claim- 1. A sash-fastener consisting of -a center portion adapted to be secured vertically to the upper sash, a lower portion hinged to the lower end of the center portion and provided with a shoulder, and an upper portion hinged to the constructed substantially as set forth, so that 1o top of the center portion and having its bearthe lower hinged portion may be folded against ing against the shoulder when the lower porthe center, and the upper portion turned into tion is horizontal, substantially as set forth. line with the center, for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, in a sash-fastener, of a central plate or portion, two plates hinged :re- J' RUFUS TERRY' spectively to the opposite ends of the central` Witnesses: plate, the upper adapted to bear on a shoulder ANTHONY GEEF, J r.,

of the lower and brace the latter, the whole WM. A. POLLOCK. 

